Episode 8 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, welcome to the show.

Now, there are property auctions going on all year,

up and down the country,

literally millions and millions of pounds' worth of property

-sold under the hammer.

-Yes, and if you want to buy

your home under the hammer, you've come to the right place

for that little bit of advice.

We always say that you should do your research

before you buy a property at auction.

But what does that exactly mean?

Well, for starters, you should try and view the property if you can.

Yes, it's always good to know what you're taking on.

But what about today's buyers?

Do they know what's in store?

Here's what they bought.

First up in Langton Green, and I can't believe my ears.

78,000?

-Yeah.

-You mean seven to eight?

No, no. 78.

And in Stoke, Staffordshire, I need some elbowroom.

There's no sink in here either.

There was somewhere to hang your dressing gown,

but I've just destroyed that...

Whilst in Northwood, Middlesex,

great projects are built on strong partnerships.

It's great that you've gone into partnership with this.

-With THIS?

-With this!

-With this!

-Oh, this!

All these properties have been sold at auction and we'll find out who

bought them and what they paid when they went under the hammer.

Sold.

Close to Tunbridge Wells in Kent is the village of Langton Green.

It was once famous for producing a certain famous

table top football game, but my goal today is to find out

if the property I'm here to see is a big scorer.

Well, with a guide price of £425,000-£450,000

at the auction was this.

It's a three-bedroom bungalow, close to the village centre.

Bungalows very popular.

Bit like rocking horse droppings, you don't find them very often.

Could be good news.

Bungalows have been around in this country since the 1860s

but despite the fact they are prized by many buyers,

pressure to maximise plots has meant builders favouring flats

and double-storey homes.

So, in 2014, only 1% of new builds were bungalows.

So, what have we got? A little entrance area there.

Lots of glass that you'd want to replace, I doubt it's safety glass.

Into the sort of main part of the bungalow, the central area.

Actually feels quite spacious, which is good news.

Certainly sets my expectations fairly high in terms of

what the rest of the bungalow will be like, and in fact, yeah,

into this room here... Really nice-sized kitchen/living area.

Obviously, very, very dated.

Have you ever seen a cooker...

or rather a hob that small?

It's more like a camping one.

You'd definitely want to update this.

But the principle of what we've got here is lovely.

A kitchen, a living area here, very family friendly, we like that.

Then again, very dated, of the era, these sliding doors.

Leading through to a really nice-sized lounge.

Again, very dated, with this stone, natural stone hearth there.

You'd probably want to get rid of that. Parquet flooring, similarly,

people loved it in the day, but, probably, to modernise it,

you'd want to put something else down.

But a good size, lots of space, just needs modernising.

I'm not seeing anything I don't like yet.

And what is there not to like?

The bungalow's three bedrooms are all at the same end of the building

and all doubles. One was obviously used as a study

but is still big enough for a double bed.

The family bathroom is also at this end and it's an OK size,

even if it's a bit too pink.

At the front is the master bedroom.

And off it, ha-ha-ha, an en-suite.

I love the colour.

This amazing burgundy.

You'd probably want to improve that.

But it's a nice additional feature to have, lots of light coming in here.

And, certainly, an en-suite is a great thing to have.

So, all in all, yeah, great little bungalow.

Or perhaps that should be a great big bungalow.

The back garden, though not very flat, is a good size too.

If you still don't think it's big enough,

there's opportunity to create even more living space.

At the side of the property but attached to it by a little corridor,

you've got this, a nice-sized garage.

Well, like most people's garages, it's just full of stuff.

And that is what people tend to do these days.

No cars live in garages, do they, honestly?

It's full of rubbish. Why not actually make this officially

into a proper usable space? The good news is there's a thing

called permitted development,

which means that so long as you adhere to building regulations,

which means you'd have to strengthen foundations,

make sure that the walls are insulated, all that kind of stuff,

that you can do it without actually applying for planning permission,

so that's good news and, yes, it would give you extra space

on what is already quite a spacious bungalow.

So, this bungalow is relatively rare,

has loads of space and a great location,

being tucked in a quiet cul-de-sac.

It ticks lots of boxes.

Can a local estate agency see any other advantages to this property,

guided at £425,000-450,000?

The nearest station would be Tunbridge Wells

and that's probably three miles away.

Village green is probably about 300 yards away.

There's a twitten through behind us going through it on to the village

green and the primary school.

Now, for those of you wondering what a twitten is,

in local parlance, it's a little pathway.

If we were in Buenos Aires, it would be a caminito, but we're not.

So, what about the property?

It's got double glazing, it's got central heating,

so it's not, you know, major works,

but it's just all the nice things to make it look nice afterwards.

What's the feeling about extending it?

The property's got potential to do extensions

and to do loft conversions.

It's really down to whether the timeframe and the turnaround

and the cost actually make it a viable proposition.

So, what would it be worth in its current configuration?

Well, once the property is completed and done up,

we believe the price will be at least 550,000,

it could well go up to £600,000.

-And for rental?

-We believe that the rental on this property,

once it's all done up, would be something in the region

of £1,200-£1,300 per calendar month.

Well, it's a nice bungalow, just in need of some modernisation,

but in a good area,

so I'm sure it'll be a popular lot under the hammer.

Lot 13, in Langton Green.

Start me where you will on that one. 425, can I say?

Start me at 400 then, I'm not going below 400.

400, thank you.

£400,000 bid.

On my left. 400, I have.

Just you and me at £400,000, then.

405? 405, I'm obliged.

And ten now, may I say?

410, may I say?

410 I have.

415. 415.

At 415, I've got.

420 I want.

Are you all done at 415?

Give me another five, it's going to the gentleman here at the front.

At 415,000.

Coming in again, because you're going to miss it.

First time then at £415,000.

Second time at 415.

Third and final time at £415,000.

You've got yourself a bungalow, sir. Well done.

And the man bagging the bungalow was Chris.

His top bid of 415,000

wasn't the first time he's spent money to renovate property.

He's been doing it for five years,

but six months ago, packed in his job

to make property development his full-time career.

Chris, great to meet you.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this bungalow.

We live locally and have started

developing properties around the area.

-OK.

-And thought that this was a good opportunity for us.

And it's easy access to Tunbridge Wells,

which is obviously a lovely town.

-Yeah.

-And it's quite quiet around here, as well, being a cul-de-sac.

-So, something to take on and renovate and make nice.

-Right.

That's the plan then, is it, to do it up and sell it on or...

-rent it out?

-Yeah, that would be the plan,

so kind of modernise it and, you know, completely fit it out,

nice standard, and then sell it on.

-What was your job?

-I worked in sports events,

so I did the Open and the Ryder Cup golf retail

and then I moved onto the Rugby World Cup to look after

the kind of commercial aspects of the Rugby World Cup.

Great. Actually there on location, or did you do it from an office?

Yes. On location. I was up at the Open each year

for sort of four weeks...

-Are you a golfer?

-I play a little bit, try to play,

-I should probably say.

-Yeah.

So, has that completely gone now, that part of your career?

-Yes.

-Moved on?

Yeah, and moved on to do this.

We moved down from London, near our family and moved into Tunbridge Wells.

-Who is we?

-My wife, sorry.

-Yeah. What's her name?

-She's Georgina.

-Uh-huh.

-Yeah, so she does quite a lot of the interior design bits

and pieces at the weekend, and then I do all the grunt work,

I suppose you'd say, with a bit of help.

So, what work will you take on?

I'll do all the strip outs.

And then we'll bring in subcontractors

for various bits and pieces, but father-in-law's an electrician,

-so that always helps.

-Very good.

So, tell me what you're going to do to it, then.

The idea is to completely gut it and rewire, replumb, re-plaster.

Planning dependent, looking to do something with the garage, as well.

But just depending on the...

-What?

-Convert it into possibly a bedroom and bathroom.

OK, so what about the layout?

Layout will remain the same,

apart from kind of changing the kitchen unit layout.

Bathrooms remain the same, decent size living space.

I don't think we need to do a huge amount to that from that perspective.

Maybe just change the hallway entranceway a bit,

but in terms of space, everything's got a decent amount of size, I think.

Chris is spot on.

I think he's got himself a doozy here.

And whilst it's a bit dated,

there's tonnes of room to add value with that garage conversion.

So, what's his budget?

About 78,000, I think.

-Budget?

-Yeah.

78,000?!

Yeah.

You mean seven to eight?

No, no. 78.

You're going to spend £78,000 doing this place up?

I think, all-in, we will be.

-How?

-Depending on what we do at the front, as well.

-What are you planning?

-Well, we might do new windows...

-That's what we've got anyway. So, we'll see.

-Crikey.

OK. And what about the resale value then

you think you might get on this?

We would hope for mid-500s, I would have thought, or higher.

There was a similar property a little bit bigger up the road

that sold a few years ago for 520.

-Right.

-But, yeah, it's got a little bit of square footage over this.

OK. Right. And I imagine that they don't come up

-that often in this area.

-No.

-It's really sweet.

Very few and far between.

So, where's the majority of your big budget going?

Well, the structural work out the side,

the garage all needs replacing,

and actually quite a lot of the joists in the loft area

are fairly undersized.

And you can see from the ceilings that pretty much every room

is undersized joists, so they'll probably all need

-to be replaced as well.

-Oh, wow! So, what about timescale?

-Six months?

-OK.

-Hopefully, yeah.

-All being well.

-On the market and move on.

-Yeah.

-And is that the plan, to keep it rolling?

Yes. That would be the idea.

Look for the next one fairly soon

after kind of getting close to the finishing stages of this.

Great. Well, congratulations with it.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck.

-And we look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Cheers. Thank you.

Well, there you go. It's not often I'm that surprised by people's budget.

And normally, it's the other way round,

people underestimating what they'll spend.

But not £7,000-£8,000, but £78,000.

That sure is a good wodge of money.

I do think that the area and the house itself

justify that amount, but it is still a lot of money.

Will he spend it?

It sounds odd to say it that way round.

But will he? You can find out later in the show.

We are heading to the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent,

but in which of the towns that make up the city

is today's property situated?

# Happiness has a home

# Have a guess where it is

# Have you ever been... #

I'm in Packmoor, which is not too far from Tunstall.

Tunstall is one of Stoke's six towns

and the property I'm here to see is this. It's a terraced house,

it's got two bedrooms and a guide price of £45,000.

Let's get inside.

OK. This, as you come in,

very traditional layout.

From the street, straight into the front room.

I actually lived in a house with the same kind of front room

in Leicester, right next to the football ground.

Used to go to watch the games, three quid it was back then.

All change. Anyway! Front room is a little bit tight

but it's what I expected. You've got a gas fire over there.

Some old furniture here, as well.

When I say old, it's probably retro now.

But carpet's old-fashioned and the floor, as I'm walking,

does feel a little bit uneven,

coming into the second reception room.

And I do feel like I'm fighting up here because the floor is uneven.

That might be a little bit of movement

or it just could be the age of the property.

You've got another gas fire just there.

The ceilings are quite high.

Both in this room and the front room.

And then you've got your stairs just there.

But I haven't spotted any central heating as yet.

As I come into the kitchen, which is very tight, very snug,

as I squeeze round the corner, and as you can see,

the units and the whole of this kitchen

is incredibly small, tight, dated, all needs to be changed.

And right at the end, downstairs,

you've got this sort of shower room, toilet, there's no bath,

there's no sink in here either.

There was somewhere to hang your dressing gown,

but I've just destroyed that...

Is there a way of using this space a little bit better?

Is there a way of maybe making it a little bit bigger, as well?

# Honey, can you squeeze me in? #

It's all a bit of a squeeze.

This extension isn't nearly big enough

to be the main family bathroom.

That's right, that is it.

There's no room upstairs, even for a shower room,

unless you are willing to compromise one of the two bedrooms

which aren't that spacious either.

Is there a solution outside?

Right, I just wanted to pop out the back here.

There isn't an awful lot of space here,

but I wanted to have a look at this.

Looks like new brick to me.

I'm thinking, could you extend just that little bit further?

Next door have done it

and a few of houses down there have done it as well.

There's enough space but you have got a couple of drains here,

that might be a bit of a stumbling block.

Also, it could cost you a few quid and are you going to get it back?

The other thing I wanted to look at is the roof.

It's always good when you're buying a property,

have a look at the roof at the front.

It might look all pretty but also check the roof at the back.

If you can have a look up there, that roof is slightly sunken

and there's a few missing slates as well.

So, get the roof sorted,

and then make a decision on what you're going to do

with that extension. Is it worth it or is it not?

# I'm not going to stay and watch you circle the drain

# Watch you circle the drain Watch you circle the drain... #

Surface water drains take away the water from gutters and downpipes

whereas foul drainage removes kitchen and bathroom waste.

Moving underground drains is a job for the experts,

as the chambers can contain toxic gases, and bear in mind,

a drain on your property doesn't necessarily mean it belongs to you.

It might be shared with neighbours.

You should check the planning before you pour any money down the drain.

Let's see if a local property expert can offer any advice on this house,

guided at 45 grand.

Would it be a worthwhile drain on your bank balance?

First impressions of the property is that it's really just

a little bit dated. There's no central heating,

which needs to be rectified.

And also the shower room to the back is very small.

I would suggest people maybe look to extend.

The main option would be to keep a bathroom on the ground floor

because there's not really too much space for one on the first floor.

And it just really needs to be extended, really,

to provide a normal size bathroom.

We are agreed on that tiny shower room, then.

I was also concerned about that bumpy floor.

Does the agent think it needs investigating?

We're in a coal-mining area.

It is important that buyers check the mining report

before the auction. It would usually be in the legal pack.

The main thing to check is if there's any mine entries

within 20 metres of the boundary of the property.

And if there is, this possibly could affect resale value

and it possibly could also affect mortgageability.

So, this property looks easy peasy.

But there needs to be a lot of homework done

before sticking your hand up at auction and offering anything

around that guide price of 45K,

which brings me to the possible resale values.

After renovation, I would place the property on the market

in the region of £70,000.

And what about the rental values?

Rental demand would be good in this area.

I would anticipate a rental income

in the region of £400 per calendar month.

So, we've got some uneven flooring,

you've got a shower room instead of a bathroom,

and there's no central heating.

I actually quite like this little terraced house.

Let's find out who else did when it went under the hammer.

Lot 29. Guiding in at 45.

Can I say 40 to start on this one?

Lot 29. 40 bid, thank you.

At £40,000. 41 can I see now?

Opening bid of 40. Looking for 41 now.

At 40... 41. 42. 43. 44.

44,000, my left.

At £44,000. 45 anywhere else?

Are we all done then at 40...?

45.

Quick, quick. 45, on the front row then at £45,000.

Against you standing.

I'm selling it then at £45,000 for the first time.

£45,000 for the second time.

Third and final time. £45,000.

You've bought it. Well done, sir.

Securing this house for bang on its 45K guide price was Dave,

who was at the auction with his dad and business partner Tony.

Although they have been working together on property for a while,

this one was actually Dave's property.

He has bought it to sell it on but Dad's going to be helping out.

They came along to tell me more.

# He's a chip off the old block... #

-Dave, nice to meet you.

-You too.

-Nice to meet you, Tone.

-Nice to meet you.

Congratulations, chaps.

-Thank you.

-Nice little pad you've got here, by the way.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-So, what are you going to do?

Tone, how are you going to change it?

We're going to make the bathroom a little bit bigger.

-OK.

-Because it's only a small extension at the back.

It's a new extension but we don't want to spend

too much money building on.

So, what we're going to do is improve what we've got here...

-OK.

-..by just bringing...

Making the bathroom a bit bigger.

Moving the back door this way.

And then, we'll have a little utility room

in between the living room and the bathroom.

And the kitchen will be coming this way?

The kitchen, this will be the living kitchen.

-Nice one.

-Yeah.

-So, you have your reception room

or your living room in there?

-That's it.

-And you will have...

Good idea, by the way. I like that idea.

-Whose idea was that?

-I've seen it on properties before.

-OK.

-It's already been like that, so I thought that's an idea.

-So, we got it from there, really.

-And then the bathroom at the end.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Are you going to put a bath in there and...?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Bath, shower over the top of it and...

And upstairs, you've got the two bedrooms...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Are you changing anything up there?

It's hard to change anything, really, isn't it?

Just tidy it all up and decorate.

How long are you hoping this is going to take you?

-How long is it going to take?

-Three to four months.

-From start to finish?

-Yeah.

-All done?

That's a decent timeframe, given they are going

to be pulling in a team to help them get the work done,

but these two are no slouches when it comes to skills.

I'm a joiner by trade.

-And yourself?

-Bricklayer by trade.

Now it makes sense.

You've got father and son... Who is the boss?

Me.

No hesitation there!

At all. And how long have you been sort of working together

-in property, then?

-26 years now.

We've been doing...

on a building job...

Keeping property and renting it out is a different ball game, isn't it?

-Of course.

-And we're just learning that.

-Good on you.

-It's only over the last four or five years,

it's like working on our own property has been the main thing.

And do you buy to sell all the time or...?

Yeah, if we have trouble selling them, we'll rent them.

How much are you going to spend on it? What's your budget?

-11-12.

-OK.

-11-12, yeah.

Perhaps a bit more because there might be...

Once you start taking...

Stripping walls down, there's always the surprises.

There is, isn't there?

There's always something you haven't noticed.

When you first look, there's always something else.

I did notice it's slightly wobbly as you are coming in.

I thought I'd had a few beers but I hadn't. Honest!

-It's a bit wobbly, the floor, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-A little bit.

It's a mining area.

A lot of the terraces around here are like that.

-Had a bit of movement.

-A bit of movement in them.

Sometimes...

We did one years ago, where it was eight inches from front to back.

What they'd done, the floor used to go through level

and then step down into the kitchen.

-OK.

-And they'd just levelled it out.

Really?!

But it was all right. It was a good sound house.

-Like this.

-Is there anything in this house that surprised you?

Anything you thought, "I didn't realise that was there,"

-or anything frightened you?

-No.

No, nothing up to now.

-Not yet.

-At least not yet.

-We'll find out.

-See what happens when this comes off.

-Yeah.

-That's it.

-Good on you.

Listen, I'll wish you both very well.

I'm pretty sure it's all going to work out

with your dad being the boss.

Yeah. Thanks very much.

Good luck to you. Good luck.

Thank you.

So, father-and-son team Tony and Dave

have got themselves a nice little project here.

There's a few things that need to be done

but there's a few things that have already been done.

And I do like the idea of that kitchen dining area.

Let's hope it all works out.

You can find out how they get on later in the programme.

Still to come, in Northwood,

Lucy has an attractive guide price for us.

No reserve. You could just make a bid of a quid and it could be yours.

Whilst in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire,

father-and-son team Tony and Dave have a bit of advice.

Get a good decorator.

You don't want to do it yourself.

Back now to near Tunbridge Wells in Kent

and the village of Langton Green,

where I saw a property that's becoming

relatively scarce these days, a three-bed bungalow.

It was dated but had a good layout with a large-ish kitchen

and open-plan dining space to the back of the property.

Leading through to a really nice-sized lounge.

Again, very dated with this stone, natural stone hearth there.

So, you'd probably want to get rid of that.

Parquet flooring, similarly, people loved it in the day,

but, probably, to modernise it,

you'd want to put something else down.

But a good size, lots of space, just needs modernising.

I'm not seeing anything I don't like yet.

It had three good-sized bedrooms

and a very dated burgundy ensuite that just had to go.

The man with the modernising touch was property developer Chris.

Having paid a sizeable 415 grand, it was still under the guide price,

so I thought he was quids in.

However, that was before I heard his budget,

or rather misheard his budget.

78,000.

You mean seven to eight?

No, no. 78.

You're going to spend £78,000 doing this place up?!

-I think, all-in, we will be.

-How?

Chris certainly wasn't going for a basic renovation here.

He wanted to convert the garage into more living space

and go for an extension to the front

if the local planning department would allow.

He wanted the work done in six months,

so we're back right on schedule to see if

he's pushed the boat out on this one.

# You push me To go the extra mile

# You push me When it's difficult to smile

# You push me A better version of myself

# You push me Only you and no-one else... #

All the dated features of this bungalow have been given the push.

Chris has brought this kitchen into the 21st century.

The previously rather sad sitting room is now much more glamorous.

The work is far from cosmetic with new windows, plumbing,

electrics and plastering throughout.

Oh, and of course, tiling.

The new family bathroom continues the modern fresh look

and that same style can be seen in the master ensuite bedroom.

# Every step I take

# Everything I do

# It's all because you push me

# You push me... #

Outside to the front, Chris has also pushed the boundaries of the house,

by adding an extension which bridges

from the original house to the garage.

It runs from the front of the house to full-length windows at the back,

while part of the garage houses a handy utility room.

It really ties the house together

and leads through to the other bedrooms.

# ..To go the extra mile

# When it's difficult to smile

# A better version of myself

# Only you and only you and only you... #

And it proved a bit of a challenge.

The extension probably wasn't in the plans when we first bought it,

and so creating that was something that we really, really liked,

and it's a nice big area that has developed over time

and as we saw the extension go,

we decided to divide it into two spaces.

When we did the extension,

the screed that we had to lay was a lot deeper

than what I was used to before.

And I hadn't realised about the drying time that it took,

so what I was expecting to be kind of four or five weeks

was actually a few months,

and so it took a lot longer from that perspective and we couldn't do

anything to the flooring or any work around that

while it was drying off, so that was definitely a learning curve.

It also must have cost a fair amount of money.

At first, I thought Chris's budget of 78,000 was a bit OTT.

But what has the work cost, now it's complete?

I actually ended up spending 110,000,

reason being was we ended up doing the extension,

which was pretty much all of that, and then there were a few

other things that we needed to do that I hadn't quite budgeted for.

Things like the new drainage in the en-suite bathroom

and lowering the level of the patio to get it below DPC.

So, yeah, over budget, but hopefully the reward will be worth it.

Wowsers. That really takes the biscuit.

Chris has spent a total of £525,000 here,

and there was me thinking it would be hard to spend

a lot of money on this bungalow.

How wrong can you be?

Well, let's find out from two local estate agents.

First, the agent who saw it before.

They've made an amazing transformation.

The extension they put on the front and opening up the hallway

and everything, it's just a completely different house

and what a wonderful bungalow it's turned into.

With regard to the layout, I think it will work extremely well.

There's a large bathroom and a wet room,

so I think it will suit families

and it will also suit downsizers as well.

With bungalows being quite rare,

this house sure looks to have a wide market appeal,

but just how much could Chris get back from his £525,000 investment?

Well, the resale value, I think, of the property now,

finished as well as it has been,

will break new boundaries in this location.

So I would expect we would achieve

somewhere between 725,000 and 750,000.

I think the property has been done up extremely well,

and I think its value will be in the region of £750,000.

We'd be really happy with that.

I think, initially when I started the project, I had kind of

not anticipated quite that much,

but, yeah, so really pleasantly surprised,

as we've gone through the work in the six months,

there'd been a few properties coming up for sale

and selling around the area, so I kept my eye on those,

and I think the property market is doing quite well,

so, yeah, I was happy with that.

So he should be. That top valuation would mean a pre-tax profit

of £225,000.

Very impressive.

But Chris isn't one for resting on his laurels.

Next thing for me is to keep my eye out on the property market,

see what might be coming up.

At the moment, there's no auctions planned for another month or so,

so just looking round all the local estate agents,

keeping my eye on the internet for anything that might be of interest,

and going from there. So, yeah,

it's just about finding the next project for me.

Today, Lucy's in Northwood, which is in Hillingdon.

The most westerly of the London boroughs.

Jump on the Metropolitan line and you'll be in central London

in 15 minutes.

Well, it doesn't seem like there's anything too surprising

about this road. It's got some lovely houses

and it's only a few minutes' walk from the Underground station.

What is however surprising

is the guide price of the lot I'm here to see,

which had no reserve.

You could just make a bid of a quid and it could be yours!

No, it's not the house.

What you could buy for just a pound is just up this driveway.

Intrigued? I know I am.

# It's just that sweet little mystery

# That makes me try, try, try, try... #

So, what you get is...

This parcel of land here, along this boundary,

right along the back and along the side.

You don't even get this shed.

It is just this little parcel of land here.

It's not going to take very long to look around, is it?

# Everybody look to their left

# Everybody look to their right... #

Done it.

So, not much to see but that just means you'll have to use

your imagination to unearth the plan for this bit of land,

with no reserve guide price.

# ..Forget about the price tag... #

So, it's described as a regular-shaped parcel of land

in the auction catalogue, and it's 702 square feet in total.

But the burning question is, what on earth do you do with it?

Well, Lucy, could this parcel of land become a building plot?

But, Lucy, there are some serious obstacles to overcome

before you get planning permission.

But you could perhaps fit a little bungalow

or a small house on here.

The driveway that leads up here is private,

and so, without permission from the owner of the adjacent property,

well, you won't even be able to access your own piece of land.

That no reserve was set for a reason,

and this could be a tricky lot indeed.

# I have an angel on my shoulder

# But a devil in my head... #

Now, something I had noticed.

Lots of little beautiful robins keep landing on this plot.

They are everywhere and they are so beautiful.

The early bird usually catches the worm,

but thanks to the Wildlife & Countryside Act,

any developer would have to be at one with nature here.

All wild birds are protected,

meaning it's an offence to intentionally harm them.

And if you disturb these little robins

while they were building or using their nests,

you could end up being a jailbird.

# Fly, robin, fly

# Up, up to the sky! #

Does the estate agent think that this piece of land

with no reserve could fly at auction,

or if this little parcel of land could be an albatross

around your neck?

I think the issues with this plot of land are the access,

the location of the land,

and how it backs on to numerous gardens of other residential homes.

You could possibly, if you got access, build a house or a bungalow.

If you didn't, it's very limited

what you could really do with the land.

Well, as we are ever the optimists on this show,

let's see if planning was granted on one of those options,

what kind of values could that bring in?

I think a two-bedroom bungalow would be valued circa £500,000.

And a three-bedroom/four-bedroom two-storey standard house

would be worth around 800,000.

With no reserve, this parcel of land, well,

it could be worth taking a punt on but with all the potential pitfalls

surrounding planning permission, certainly a bit of a gamble.

Who was up for the challenge?

Let's head to auction and find out.

Start your bidding. There is no reserve, so I'll take your bids.

200 anywhere?

200.

400, 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200.

Don't know what you're thinking about. 1,200.

1,400, 1,600, 1,800...

..2,000, 2,200.

Yes? 2,200. 2,400.

The lot generated some interest and we rejoin the bidding at £4,000.

£4,000.

4,200 anywhere?

Otherwise I'm selling it at £4,000.

4,000 for the first,

4,000 for the second,

4,000 for the third and final...

Who's that?

Don't leave it so late. 4,200.

4,400, 4,600, 4,800, 5,000?

No? At 4,800 for the first,

4,800 for the second,

5,000. 5,200.

5,200. 5,400? No?

We'll go through it again. Been here a long...

£5,200.

5,200 for the first,

second, third and final time.

Sold. Sorry, sir. Too late.

The joint purchasers of this lot were David, here on the left,

and Jack. They both came along to tell Lucy why they decided to pay

£5,200 for the parcel of land with no reserve guide price at auction.

David and Jack, congratulations.

Lovely to meet both of you today.

-How are you?

-So, what's the story,

because this is quite an unusual lot?

We bought the house originally about 13 years ago and there was a small

plot of land at the back and then we heard it had gone to auction.

You own the house on the end.

That's right. But we still had two people bidding against us.

We were hoping to pick it up for a tenner.

Or a pound. There's no reserve on it.

I would have loved that,

to have paid a quid or ten quid for something like this.

-That would have been marvellous.

-And you ended up paying...?

-BOTH:

-5,200.

-Yeah.

-5,200 for this parcel of land is not bad though.

So, what is the plan and what do you think can happen from here?

Well, hopefully, we are going to redevelop the house, sell that off,

and then develop the property here.

We should be able to get a four-bedroom house here.

-With a bit of luck.

-A house for a family?

Yeah. What do you think the chances are of that?

Have you had a chance to talk to the local council?

We have and we've been trying for the last couple of years to do something

but we didn't have the extra space. They weren't necessarily against it,

but we had the problem with the amenity space because we didn't have that

extra space. That's why it was so important to get that.

So, we feel quite confident that we are going to get what we want from it, yeah.

It is three or four bedroom,

very nice detached property with garden and front garden and parking.

-And parking.

-It's going to be unbelievable if you get planning for that.

End value for a property like that?

About 800,000.

£800,000?

-Hopefully.

-Now, guys, are you developers?

I know you both jointly own the property at the end.

Tell me a bit about yourselves.

Are you brothers? Are you related?

-Are you best friends?

-I'm better looking than him anyway.

I'm a hairdresser.

I stopped five years ago.

No more cutting and trimming.

Did you ever do Jack's hair?

No. No, I wouldn't let him touch my hair.

I wouldn't go near it. You don't know what you're going to find in it.

You do look like brothers though. You do really look like brothers. Do people say that?

-Yes.

-They do.

-And how many years have you known each other?

40 years, I suppose.

-It's that long.

-40 years?

-Yeah.

-It's great that you've gone into partnership with this.

-With THIS?

-With this!

-With this!

-Oh, this!

-I thought you meant this.

-It's always worked OK.

We've never had any real problems.

We've always shared everything we've done.

-And we've sort of...

-We've got a very good partnership.

-MARTIN ROBERTS:

-Jack and David do indeed have a property developing partnership going on.

They own property in various parts of the country,

from London to Yorkshire, and, of course,

they own this adjacent property which is currently divided

into four flats.

And this will be stage one of the project,

getting those renovated and selling them on.

So, who does what? Who plays what role? Come on, tell me.

Who's the bossy one? Who's in charge of the finances?

-He's the bossy one.

-So, you're the bossy one. And what do you bring to the table?

Not much. I let him do it. No.

It's very difficult because when you're dealing with

tenants and when you've got through all the paperwork,

it's no good having to go one to other.

If you've got one person who looks after it all,

at least you keep it under control.

Dave's got enough on his plate in any case.

So, I tell him everything that we do...

All that goes on. We are always talking to each other.

So, it works well that way.

Have you ever built a house before though?

-No.

-Refurbished quite a few of them.

My wife used to be an interior designer.

So, we've done that quite a few times, yeah.

But it's one thing refurbishing, it is another thing building.

-I know. It is a challenge, isn't it?

-It is a challenge.

-Are you ready for that challenge?

-Absolutely.

Do you have a great team of builders that have got good experience?

-Yes, we do.

-You do.

-We have a guy, a team,

who have done our extensions,

who have built houses...

-15 years now, isn't it?

-Yeah. And they are very good.

How much do you think it's going to cost to build the house?

I think between 200 and 250.

Between 200 and 250.

Yeah. It doesn't matter.

-We'll have the money there.

-Yes.

It's going to be very hi-tech.

We're not going to just build a house. It's going to be beautiful.

So, it all goes swimmingly well, you get planning permission, you're going to start to build.

How long do you think it's going to take you?

I think that...

-It'll take a year.

-Yeah.

Ten months to 12 months.

-Ten to 12 months.

-So, you're giving yourselves a comfortable year?

-Yeah.

-Something you don't want to rush.

-No.

-Is anything concerning you about this?

-The council.

-What are you worried about?

-Planning permission.

-Do you think...?

I mean, what do you think would stop you and halt this?

I don't share David's view on this. I think that,

you know, with the architects and planners we've got on board,

I think it will get through.

I've done this before

and I think it's just a question of making sure that

we do the right things for them.

You know, we've got that building next door,

which is a back-land development already,

so they'll find it hard to object to the fact that we're doing something

like that and we're not overlooking anything in any case.

There might be a bit of a battle but I think at the end of the day,

-it'll work.

-Have you got a plan B?

If you don't get permission, and I'm sure you will,

but if it doesn't work out for you, what are you going to do with this?

-We don't look at it from that point of view.

-You've spent five grand on it.

-A lovely bit of garden.

-We will get permission.

-It will happen.

-I love your positivity.

-Yeah.

-Guys, it's been so fantastic meeting you both today.

-OK.

I hope you continue to love what you do and it's going to be really

interesting watching this house go up.

-It will be.

-If you get permission.

-We will.

-We will. We will.

-Thank you so much.

-OK.

Jack, lovely to meet you.

-David, great.

-Thank you. Nice to meet you.

-OK.

What a stroke of luck, or a well-thought-out plan,

that this plot fell into

the hands of the owners of the property in front.

That certainly gives Jack and David

a real advantage when it comes to that all-important

planning permission.

However, nothing is set in stone until all the Ts have been crossed and the Is dotted.

And I still think they might have a battle on their hands.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out what happens.

Well, we've seen how one of our properties turned out

but what about the other two? How did they get on?

It's crunch time.

Yes, did our buyers achieve exactly what they set out to?

Let's find out.

Time to return to the Packmoor area of Stoke-on-Trent,

where I saw this two-bed mid-terraced house guided at £45,000.

Inside was very dated and I was a little worried that the uneven floor

might be something to do with this being a former mining area.

While it had two good-sized living rooms, and two OK bedrooms,

the main issue with this house wasn't the lack of space,

but the current use of it.

The property had been extended fairly recently,

but the space it provided wasn't great, with a really narrow kitchen

and a shower room that was a bit of a squeeze.

There's no bath...

CLATTER There's no sink in here either.

There was somewhere to hang your dressing gown

but I've just destroyed that...

Is there a way of using this space a little bit better?

Is there in a way of maybe making it a little bit bigger, as well?

At least the outside space meant there was a possibility to extend.

Buyer Dave got the house for bang on the guide price of £45,000.

He and his dad Tony thought they had the answer to the space issue, also.

So, what we are going to do is improve what we've got here.

-OK.

-By just bringing...

Making the bathroom a bit bigger, moving the back door this way,

and then we'll have a little utility room in between the living room and

-the bathroom.

-And the kitchen will be coming this way?

-The kitchen, this will be the living kitchen.

-Oh, nice one.

Both Dave and Tony had trades before they got into property

developing together. Dave was a bricklayer and Tony a joiner.

However, they planned to get a team in to do the work for them

on this project so their 11- to 12-grand budget

and their three- to four-month timescale

seemed doable. Five months later,

we are back to see how this father-and-son team got on.

The dated reception room has gone,

replaced with a modern fitted kitchen,

with a splash of colour and plenty of space for a dining table.

There are new wooden floors and they have installed central heating throughout.

That tiny kitchen is now a spacious utility room with combi boiler.

The tiny shower room has been redesigned into a fantastic bathroom with a bath.

By moving the internal wall,

they have managed to find more space without the cost of extending.

The front reception room is looking very smart and, fortunately,

the mining report in the legal pack flagged no issues.

So, they only needed to level and carpet the floor.

Upstairs is looking brand-spanking-new and,

like the rest of the house,

has been replastered and repainted.

They've done everything they set out to do and I'm convinced that it was

right to reconfigure the space rather than increase the extension.

We decided against it because there's a ceiling price on the houses around here.

So, we decided to spend the money on improving what was already here.

I think they made the right decision here.

And just as well because remember Dave mentioned there are often surprises.

The whole house, bar the new kitchen,

has been fully damp coursed.

At first, we saw some signs of damp

and when we got to hacking the plaster off and doing it

we decided to do it all and that

added a bit more cost onto it.

That has turned out to be a fairly big expense and in retrospect,

a budget of £11,000 to £12,000 was a bit optimistic.

So, what did they spend?

We thought it would be about £11,000, 12,0000 or so,

but it's been quite a bit more than that due to unexpected things.

Once you start knocking things about, you start revealing...

It reveals more.

So, we've ended up spending nearer to 25.

It's not hard to see how the costs mounted up.

For instance, council tax needs to be calculated in.

And apart from the obvious big-ticket items

like the kitchen, bathroom, central heating

and the damp proofing, other items like doors,

handles and architraves, and good quality materials, all give a great finish,

but don't come cheap. The lads are philosophical about it, though.

With an old house, you've got to try and put it right.

Spend the money putting what's there right.

And get a good decorator. You don't want to do it yourself.

Time to find out if making right this house will pay off.

We invited along two local estate agents to get their thoughts on the

changes, starting with the agent who saw it first.

Lots of changes since my first visit.

It's now really modern, neutral, fresh and ready to move into.

This is my first time at the property.

And the first impressions are that they've done a very, very good job.

I particularly like the new layout.

I think they've done wonders with the property in that respect.

I think the new layout does work very well.

To have a kitchen diner in a property like this

is a big selling point.

And also to have a separate utility area will appeal to most buyers.

It sounds like their clever use of space has impressed the agents.

Any other positive thoughts?

The selling point of the property is it does feel like a new build

internally. All the walls have been reskimmed and they're neutral

and it would appeal to somebody who just wants to move into a property

without finding the money or time to do improvements.

It sounds like Dave and his dad Tony have got this property lark sorted.

Is there anything the agents didn't like?

I think there are always negatives with any property

and here it is the fact that not all the windows are uPVC double glazed.

And the front door, it could have been replaced by the vendor.

New windows and doors would have increased that unplanned 25 grand

refurbishment spend, on top of the £45,000 purchase price.

That's 70 grand.

And as Tony said, there's a ceiling price, so will Dave make a profit?

I would place this property on the market in the region of £80,000.

If we were to put this property on the open market for sale,

I would expect it to achieve figures of £80,000.

Minus taxes and fees, that could be a potential profit of ten grand.

So, are the pair happy with the result?

About what we expected.

We've got it on the market now at a figure very close to that.

So, if we can get anything around that sort of figure,

we'll be quite happy with that.

So, now this project is complete,

will they be heading back to the auctions?

Buy again at auction? Yeah.

Definitely.

-MARTIN ROBERTS:

-We head back now to west London and the borough of Northwood.

Earlier on, Lucy looked at this.

No, not the house,

this patch of land that measured 702 square feet

and had a guide price of zip.

Zero, zilch, nothing, nowt.

Yep. The question still had to be asked though,

was there value for even no money?

Along this boundary, right along the back, and along the side...

You don't even get this shed.

It is just this little parcel of land here.

It's not going to take very long to look around, is it?

Done it.

# Is this it? #

Yep, that was it.

Normally, planning would be the main hurdle for a plot.

Could you even get planning for a site like this?

But worse, in this case,

getting an agreement with the owners of the private driveway would be vital.

With the access issue, it was clear why this plot had no guide price.

Sounds like a lot of ifs and buts but that didn't put the bidders off

on auction day as the plot sold for £5,200 to business partners David and Jack.

And it turned out, for them, the access issue was a doddle

because they owned the property adjacent.

So, what is the plan and what do you think can happen from here?

Well, hopefully, we are going to redevelop the house, sell that off,

and then develop the property here.

We should be able to get a four-bedroom house here.

With a bit of luck.

So, this was a project of two parts.

Stage one, refurbish the four flats they already own and sell them

and use the capital from that for stage two, a new build.

Having got the plot for a song

and projected build costs of up to 250,000,

they certainly had a great opportunity to create something fabulous in

their ten- to 12-month timescale.

But, of course, there was still a major hurdle.

-What are you worried about?

-Planning permission.

Do you think...? I mean, what do you think would stop you and halt this?

I don't share David's view on this.

I think that with the architects and the planners we've got on board,

I think it will get through.

I've done this before and I think it's just a question of making sure

that we do the right things for them.

-MARTIN ROBERTS:

-We are now nearly 12 months on and the good news is the flats have been

renovated, so that's phase one of the project complete.

But the bad news is...

# Oh, we're halfway there

# Oh-oh, living on a prayer

# Living on a prayer. #

Unfortunately, David and Jack

have still not been able to secure planning permission

for the plot of land they bought over 12 months ago.

In terms of planning, we've applied and we've been backed,

it's for a four-bedroom house, and now we are just going to appeal.

And, hopefully, we are going to get something from the appeal.

I think we've applied over the last several years two or three times.

The main reason they've always come back with

is a lack of amenity space in the area around the house.

We were under the impression by what the council said

that if we were able

to offer them the amenity space which they require,

there wouldn't be a problem. But we bought the extra piece of land

and they still weren't happy with it.

So, we are hoping now, this is going to appeal,

that the Government Inspectorate will look at it more favourably.

# So, please, please, please

# Let me, let me, let me

# Let me get what I want this time. #

-MARTIN ROBERTS:

-In the meantime, David and Jack have been busy creating four high-end

one-bedroom flats.

This includes a maisonette at the back and a very attractive duplex

at the top of the property.

They've also gone to the trouble of replacing the entire roof.

We've made sure that everything here is five-star.

Heating, the soundproofing, which is important,

and there's nothing that we've kept back on.

So, hopefully, that will be seen in the price that we achieve

and also the people that

will want to live here. We are in a wonderful position here.

We are so near the station. 25 minutes from London.

Parking, as well, is available.

And it's worked out.

The reason we've rebuilt these flats to such a high standard

is to get the money to do the rebuild at the back,

which is where our profit will be.

-MARTIN ROBERTS:

-David and Jack have spent £230,000 so far and of course,

they haven't even started on that plot yet.

We asked the agent who came before

again to give us advice on the plot

but first, what's his opinion on stage one of the project, the flats?

The selling points to the properties

are the location is second to none,

right next to the transport and high street,

the finish is excellent,

and I think the whole feel of the property is really good.

I think there is a strong demand for these properties.

Especially for commuters,

first-time buyers, and investors,

because of the location of the properties.

The estate agent is impressed with the flats and feels that if all four

should sell, it could generate a combined sales figure of 1.1 million.

I think we anticipated that from the beginning.

Perhaps it's gone up a little bit because of the quality

that we have put into the place. But it's what we'd hoped for.

It's worth the extra money that we've put into it and the finish of the flats.

Of course, the profit from the flats

will go towards the building of the four-bedroom

family house they have planned,

which they think will cost between £200,000 and £250,000 to build.

So, what does the agent think that a house that size could be worth?

Depending on specification and size I feel that a four-bedroom house in

this location would be between £700,000 and £800,000.

Well, as we know, it's all still in the balance but if they do get

planning permission for that four-bed family home,

and if they get that top guide price of 800,000,

it would mean a potential pre-tax profit of £545,000.

But after all the problems they've encountered with planning permission,

have they ever thought about giving up?

No. No, not at all.

We had it set in our minds from the start what we want to do.

And the idea, as we said, was to do these and then hopefully concentrate on the rear, on the back.

So, let's hope we can conclude with that.

That's us done for today but we're going to be back very soon with more

stories from the auction houses.

-Some successful...

-Some unfortunately less so.

Whatever, we'll be featuring all that happens

-here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.